Since seeing the power of the ASUS Eee Pc, I've been thinking of getting such a device. Though I wasn't sure if I could handle the sacrifice of hardware to get small, light and low cost. Then others started coming into the scene....such as the HP Mini Note. And, things started looking up that something suitable would be offered.

I then heard rumors of Dell coming out with something in June. And, since there are Dell's that can be had with Ubuntu...this seemed like it might be a good thing to wait for.

But, now they are saying August....I don't think I can wait that long. (too late). And, its not going to have function keys. Well, that's a sacrifice in hardware that I don't see myself accepting. (too little).

Guess I'll take a look over what is available now and pick the one that I'll have live with for the next 5-6 years (that's how old my previous laptop is).

Of course, that's what I felt when I first joined Twitter....to the point there I deleted my Twitter account. But, signed up again so that I could follow other people....and the Mars Phoenix.

I found Plurk through some of the people I follow on Twitter...so that's mainly all I'm following (one of the flaws of Plurk right now, is being able to find people to add to your timeline). IE: MarsPhoenix on Plurk.

Plus I find it more of something to microblog about what I'm doing while sitting at a computer with a browser, while Twitter is something I can do from just about anywhere (except when it is down, which it has been a lot lately).

In further use/experimentation, I learned that I need to clean the plunger once in a while. Had water coming out of the sides....corrected by cleaning it.

3 scoops is not enough to make a 16oz cup, it is barely acceptable for a 12oz cup. And, 5 scoops is not enough to make a 16oz cup and 12oz cup. Guess I'll be burning through my coffee at a faster rate than I was with my old coffeemaker.

The basket is easier to empty out, if I pull it out after I'm done and let the grounds dry a bit first.

Today, I wrote the test to become a Ham again. I first wrote the Technican, which I passed....I think I got one wrong in the end. I then tried to write the General, which I missed by 2 questions.

I had skimmed the material for the Technican, and done some practice tests online...so I expected to pass this one. I hadn't read the material for General, and failed the one practice test I had take online (also missed it by 2).

I was largely winging the General based on the fact that I had both my Basic and Advanced qualifications in Canada...and that I'm an EE. But, it has been many, many years since I got my EE or my Advanced qualifications. And, I hadn't used either in a very long time. I've been living in the United States since 1998, and had cut back on Ham activities after working the flood in June 1995 in Medicine Hat. I only did one or two public service events since that. Or doing packet radio.

05/29/08

While, I still have my old coffeemaker on the counter....I think the Cup-o-matic is now my regular coffeemaker.

I put the coffeemaker on my kitchen table by the light switch. Because, as I found, I need clear access to the top to access the water tank...either to pull it off or to fill in place.

And, the location straightens the path from bed to computer in the morning.

I have opted with fill in place, since that is the most convenient way to fill from my filtering pitcher. And, the location is good because water drips from the lid and on my countertop it would be hard to get behind it regularly to dry up.

For the first couple of days, I filled my coffee mug using the 12oz setting, which I found somewhat insufficient. On the weekend, experimented a bit on how to make 16oz....(12+4) or (8+8)...I've settled on (8+8) and only filling with grounds once each 16oz fill of my coffee mug. On one day I also tried using it to make tea.....it seemed to work, but it probably would've gone better if I had first prepared the tea....because there was a fair bit of water bypassing the leaves for the first bit.

Now I guess I'm tweaking to figure out how many scoops of coffee I need to get my 16oz cup.

The old way, I used 4 scoops during the week and 5 scoops on weekends. Getting one fill of my cup during the week and two fills on the weekends. Even though it has been a long time since I've had coffee at work....which is probably why I feel so tired in the afternoon now.

Now....5 scoops will get close to the Max line (without going over)....but yesterday and this morning, I tried 4 and it was still of satisfactory strength.... Not sure if I want to try making 2 16 oz cups from the grounds. But, obviously this means I'll be using my coffee up faster than the old way....which I guess means I'll have to increase the frequency that I get selections from Boca Java.

As for morning operations, it is kind of an interruption that I have to turn it on and wait for it to become ready before I can start brewing. And, then I have to wait for it to be ready again before I can finish brewing. It is also a pain that I can't just pull the 'basket' and dump the grounds into the trash....but have to find a spoon and dig the grounds out and then rinse it out.

Plus the thing is noisy and vibrates bad (my mug moves while it is brewing, so I have to watch that it doesn't stray while brewing.) And, it makes noises that make me worry about its longevity.

There is a big of a different taste from usual, but that's probably the difference between filtered and unfiltered coffee. Wonder if there's an inexpensive way to address that....

Maybe I will save up for a $5000 coffee maker (or maybe something in between, but can at least do 16oz at once and use beans...and be easier to get the grounds out afterwards)....or give in to become a pod person.

05/21/08

For more than 2 years, possibly even longer than 3 years... I have been thinking of replacing my coffee maker.

The coffee maker I have now is a Black & Decker Spacemaker, of approximately 15-16 years. They just don't make them like this anymore...current model Black & Decker Spackmaker Coffee Makers don't compare either. Though I was leaning towards giving up my search and getting one anyways. Except the old one basically still works, just the stopper seal on the removable water tank is starting to lose its elasticity.

At first, I was looking for another drip coffee maker. More likely something in a regular paper basket type filter, because I had tried other types before and they didn't yield the same coffee experience.

The later the office got a Flavia coffee maker. This thing was cool...it was single serve machine, where I needed to use two packets on large to get close to filling my cup....but I could do more than just coffee. I could have tea, or hot chocolate or whip up cappuccinos...at work. I thought about getting one of these at home.... But, I wasn't sure if it was really something I wanted at home. The special packets wasn't something I was sure I could justify. Plus I belong to a coffee club where I'm getting coffee on a regular basis....and I occasionally indulge in coffees such as Hawaiian Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain. There was even a time where I was considering going on another cruise with a port in Jamaica, just so that I could get some more cheap Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Now instead of subjecting some poor random forum to a long rambling thought, I will try to consolidate those things into this blog where they can be more easily ignored profess to be collected thoughts from my mind.